Notes / Commercial Description:
A burly and bitter Imperial IPA, Rampant pours a pure copper and carries the sheen of a rightly hopped beer. The Mosaic and Calypso hops bring stonefruit to the front seat, and the addition of Centennials nod towards citrus for a well-rounded aroma. The taste expands these hops with heavy peach tones and a profoundly bitter bite. There is some malt sweetness to stand this beer up, and Rampant's finish is bone-dry.

Included in the first monthly "Beermageddon Night" with several people. Review is from my notes. Poured into a teku glass from a 22oz bomber. Freshness date is listed as "28JUL13."

Pours an orange color with a syrupy, near hazed looking appearance. Very similar to Ranger IPA yet substantial thickness and carbonation abounds here. The head is rather nice, especially considering the portion I got, and lots of decent lacing lasts around the edges of the glass. Bubbles are present in a semi-effervescent manner, but it's really the color that shines here... Or, er, *glows* when placed against the light. Not a bad look at all for NB... Definitely a classic West Coast IPA interpretation.

The flavor is not as hoppy or acidic as I'd expect, but there's definitely a syrupy sweetness aided by the extra malts that melds a solid fruit bouquet. While Ranger was pretty piney and floral overall, this one is filled with juicy aromatic fruits such as mangos, oranges, and dried limes. The hop profile, again, is not as present as you'd think, but the malts are neither too grating or overpowering in dissolving what this beer is supposed to do. Lacks a certain complexity and robustness in exchange for accessibility... But considering NB's widespread crowd, that is not too surprising.

The flavor is slightly better, filled with juicy oranges, tangerines, and a finish that is both slightly astringent and floral overall. Rampant, in this case, takes an aspect that I love most with these kinds of beers by emulating actually eating a delicious, ripe fruit coated with citrus notes, and thickening the experience with lots of carbonation and malty thickness. The malts are not too sweet here, and the hop profile, while not too diverse, is solid and flavorful. A very decent dry finish follows the initial wet feel, and and carbonation is lively throughout to hold interest and appeal. At 8.50% ABV, this is stupidly drinkable as well, and that owes more to its comfortable mouthfeel over the flavor. Very solid and satisfying overall.

I was pretty impressed with this one, I'm not going to lie. I've deliberately avoided NB beers over time for whatever reason but solid offerings such as Rampant make me want to revist some of their latest trends involving experimentation. This is a perfectly widespread DIPA that just might do enough to get people into the style with its comfort factor and accessibility. It's not the most explosive I've had, but it's undeniably flavorful.

taste: very bitter, tastes of apples, grapefruit, citrus, lemon, the aftertaste isn't as satisfying as other DIPAS.

mouthfeel: decent amount of carbonation

overall: Normally I dislike anything from New Belgium, but this one is pretty good. Not comparable to a Ruination, Hop Stoopid, or Palate Wrecker if you're looking for your hop fix., but for the price this is well worth a purchase. While there are better options out there, this is probably the most widely available, cheapest double IPA i've seen; and it's pretty good
.

I concede that I might have served this too cold, but still, New Belgium disappoints me every single time...

Smell was great, very much a pine like aroma plus some pleasant fruity smell
Taste was ok, hoppy yet smooth, and I agree with a previous poster that this beer was not overhopped. But still comes with a signature metallic under taste that comes with any kind of New Belgium beer.
However, it was able to hide its relatively high alc. content with its smooth taste.
Overall felt similar to Hop Czar, but if I could choose, I'd get Hop Tsar every time if I wanted hoppiness in my beer. I can't get over the fact that New Belgium always has a funny under taste in its beers

It's always exciting when one of the big dogs puts out a new beer. Best by 7 July 2013. Tasted 13 April 2013.

Pours a medium-pale golden orange. Crystal clear, with a sparse column of bubbles rising up. One finger of whitish head, good retention, and a nice fringe of lacing like receding waves leave on the beach.

Smell is big and fruity. Full of citrus and tropical fruits, and sweet. Oranges, pineapple, and lemon zest. Main complaint is that I'm having to bury my nose in it to get as much potency as I want. But it's really quite good.

Taste is great. Delightfully sweet, with an excellent citrus hop presence. The sweetness blends into a smooth, soft bitterness that's just a little bit less than I'd like it to be. Definitely not over-hopped, whatever the label says.

This is really good, across the board. A perfect example of what a top brewery can do with a popular style, when they set their minds to it. The main thing that separates it from my absolute favorites is the relative weakness of the smell, but that's a minor criticism.

A: Pours a crystal clear golden amber in color with some light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation as well as some orange highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense foamy beige head that slowly reduces to a thick film covering the entire surface of the beer with a thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of citrus/grapefruit rind, tropical/peach/mango, and pine hops over the top of slightly sweet pale malts. Some bitterness in the aroma as well.

T: Upfront there are moderate amounts of pale malts with some brown sugar sweetness. That is followed by moderate to strong flavors of citrus/grapefruit rind hops, pine hops, and just a touch of tropical/peach hops. Slightly more than moderate amounts of bitterness that lingers for quite a while.

M: Slightly heavier than medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Chewy with light to moderate amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: Overall the alcohol is very well hidden in this beer but it is a little too aggressively bitter for my personal preference - I enjoy a DIPA quite a bit but I like a little more intense hop flavors without quite as much bitterness. Easier to drink than I expected based on the marketing of the beer and one I would enjoy another time.

A: Light amber with a snow white head that reduces to a thin film. There's lots of lacing and noticeable Alcohol legs.

S: Pine and citrus with a little maltyness. There's a slight bit of yeast esters and just a little peppery aroma coming through.

T: The first thing I tasted was resinous Pine then Citrus fruit, especially orange. At the the middle tongue there is a little hit of pepper and then some of the malt comes through. Then there's is a big grapefruity bitterness that sticks around.. The aftertaste is a combo of everything.

O: At only $7.99 a six pack it looks like I have a new regular beer. For my taste this is a very good D.I.P.A It's loaded with hop resins and a unique, peppery taste. It's dangerously drinkable for an 8.5% beer. I put this up with some of the best D.I.P.As, that I've tried.

The Rampant is a big full bodied IPA with smooth carbonation. The beer poured a darker amber with thick froathy head. The nose carried waiths of fresh piney citrus hops with hints of caramel malt. The taste started bitter then was quickly balanced by a sweeter malt. Alcohol was present thoughout the draw and there were hints of pine and citrus. Overall this is a non-sessionable beer but very tasty.

A: Pours a clear golden color with a two finger head and excellent lacing.

S: Tons of hops up front...citrus, pine, floral, and a slight onion aroma. There are some malts in there somewhere along with a hint of alcohol.

T: Much like the nose, the taste is dominated by bitter hops. Not as powerful as some top-notch DIPA's, but the flavors are very pleasing. Somewhat grassy and on the lighter side for a DIPA. The alcohol is completely hidden.

M: Medium bodied with decent carbonation.

O: Although not as complex and powerful as some DIPA's, this is a very refreshing offering from New Belgium. This would be a great summer beer. Maybe they'll can it so I can drink some by the pool...

Pours a pale gold with a finger of voluminous foam, retention isn't bad, and the lacing is excellent. Pretty good transparency, has little carbonation. The look isn't best best or the worst, not that it has much to do with the final score anyway

Smells of floral citrus hops with some tropical fruit notes, along with some roses and lavender. Very submissive malt hangs back with some caramel and alcohol. Very interesting hop profile, the flora in it really has me pushing my nose deep

Those floral hops smell better than they taste. Up front hop bomb that really lacks an edge or bite, pretty light and pale hoppy taste. Citrus notes take on a bit of a melon profile, melds with the malts to bring forth a light tasting double ipa

Feel as mentioned above is light/medium, creamy and dry. Alcohol is hidden pretty well it goes down pretty smooth

Overall this is sort of out there for a dipa. I'd be good during a hot day in the summer, but aside from the aroma nothing really stood out for me. Sometimes I really wonder where new belgium would be if they didn't have Lips of Faith

Poured a golden orange color with 2-3 fingers of long-lasting pillowy white head. Bubbly liquid. Plenty of circular, foamy and layered lacing on the sides all the way down. Good retention all the way down, long and lasting.

Smelled a potent whiff of bitter hops right way. Not sure about exact hops, but generic hops were a mix between skunky resin, citrus (grapefruit) and floral. All smells come to an abrupt finish.

Tasted that 8.50 percent alcohol right away. No hiding that for sure. Taste wasn’t really like the smell, except for that massive bitter hops. Seemed to onion or radish, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever written in a beer review. Also garlic? Still some resin hops in there, but I guess there is a thing called vegetable hops. If not, there is now. Still some grapefruit citrus hops in there, albeit light.

22 oz bomber pours a golden amber with good head and lacing. Aroma is lemon, resin, pine, apricot, caramel and alcohol. Taste is peppery bitter, but I'd like to see more citrus character. Very sweet. Seems a bit thin for the style. A bit sticky, drying on the finish with oversweet aftertaste. Overall not bad and certainly well priced, but you would expect more from a major release from a brewery as large New Belgium.

A: A light white head forms and disapates above a very clear body. With consistent visual carbonatio. Some lacing. Body is pale straw to light copper, about 8 SRMish

S: Nose is at medium power level for an IIPA. None the less juicy aromas of melon and payapa, hits of grapefruit type citrus.

TM: Smooth on the front, but as the carbonation fills the body holds a thicker approach. Fruity peach and pine notes dominate the palate. The mouthfeel is left glossy and sticky. Refreshing on the front and leaves a dry firm bitterness that beckons more...

O: Overal this is a solid IIPA. On the low end of the gravity spectrum, but big hoppy nose and body and restrained but firm bitterness.

12 oz. bottle, label says best by July 28. 2013. This is the spring 2013 inaugural release of this beer. I traded my friend a bottle of Great Lakes Rye Of The Tiger IPA for a bottle of this. Haven't had a New Belgium beer in a while, so I am going in as unbiased as possible.

Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours a little more than a finger's worth of white doughy head comprised of tightly packed microbubbles and some fluff. Body color is a transparent dark orange / copper. Nice sheets of thin, wispy lacing.

S - Smell is of light pine needles and some grapefruit rind. Light juicy hop bitterness and some bready malts. Some honey. Some wet cardboard. An underwhelming smell for such a high abv beer.

T - Taste is of rye malts up front, paired with some fresh bitter citrus grapefruit hops. Some bitter hop spice and some cracked peppercorns. Peach & mango hops dominate the second half of this experience.

M - Feel is light, sticky, and dry. Some resinous hops and some bitterness, but not what you would expect from an 8.50% abv beer.

Overall, a little more tame than the New Belgium Ranger IPA, considering the increase in abv. This beer drinks more like a rye IPA than it does an imperial IPA, although it is light and juicy most of the time, rather than bitter and spicy. A tasty beer, but somewhat underwhelming. Seems like it would be a good "imperial" IPA for the summertime.

The smell of the hops are great. I feel like 30 min into a brew dew, sticking my face deep down in the brew kettle and inhaling. It's got a real pungent aroma, which I'm seriously digging.

When i take a sip, I get the bitterness from the bops, the aroma from the hops, but none of the flavor. For a DIPA, it falls flat there.

the malt character is totally caramel. No smokiness, no deep malt backbone. What I get most is caramel and hop aroma/bitterness. I'm digging that I can walk into a low end grocery store in chicago and pick up a 6 pack of DIPA for less than $10. However, if this had a stone or dogfish logo on it, I'd be suprised. Value 7/10.

T - Bitter pine hops show up instantly. There is underlying bready/biscuity malt throughout almost the whole taste. Hop flavor is a large segment and has pine and melon like flavor. Right up to my threshold of sharp bitterness without becoming unpleasant. Crisp and refreshing dryness. Some watermelon flavor lasts into the aftertaste but later leaves me with an almost flavorless bitterness.

M - Medium-full body, very dry, light to medium-light carbonation.

O - Great looking brew with a beautiful sticky head that will not quit. Hops are the only focus of this beer, little balance to it. On a positive note it has a unique hop profile and shows off many good qualities. Pine and citrus aroma yet different than typical DIPAs. Taste was bitter all over with a great dryness. Fun take on a style that sometimes is pigeon holed.

Appearance: Pours a clear golden yellow with a stark white bubbly head of foam.

Smell: A very distinctive aroma of cantaloupe and honeydew melon with light, sweet peach notes and a bit of pine.

Taste: Follows the nose with melon, peach, pear, and apple as well as some honey and nectar sweetness. Pine and a thin crackery malt round out the taste. There's a touch of stinging alcohol in the finish that's accompanied with an almost rosewater-like flavor.